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Video chat in US jail shelved over concerns for inmates

Dallas County Jail lost its bid to install "video visitation" equipment after concerns were raised that in-person visits would be restricted

By Aviva Rutkin

A thing of the past?

(Image: Marmaduke St John/Alamy)

DEEP in the heart of Texas, a jail wants to get its inmates to use video chat.

On 9 September, Dallas County Jail lost its bid to install webcams and video calling for inmates. Dozens of lock-ups around the US have already started offering such services. Officials argue it benefits inmates, who get to interact face-to-face with loved ones, while generating revenue for jails, who get a cut of call costs.

Dallas is the first place to have problems with the scheme, and not just because of the &dollar;10 for 20 minutes price tag. Opponents are concerned that the contract to install the video equipment with Securus Technologies, based in Dallas, would have restricted in-person visits at the jail in an effort to guarantee that inmates use the system at least once per person per month, on average.

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“The concerns are legion,” says Clay Jenkins, a county judge who led the effort against the proposal. “The attempt was to do away with in-person visitation ultimately, and go to only video visitation for everybody but lawyers and doctors.”

County jails in the US are typically reserved for inmates awaiting trial or serving sentences of up to a year. Some state and federal penitentiaries have adopted the technology, but none has restricted face-to-face visits.

Two years ago, Dakota County Jail became the first in Minnesota to offer video chat, charging 39 cents per minute for every call. Calls are recorded and monitored for inappropriate behaviour.

“There’s nothing more convenient than video visitation from your own home,” says John Grant, a commander in the Dakota County sheriff’s office.

There’s nothing more convenient than video visitation from your own home

People are still permitted to visit Dakota County inmates in person. Other county jails that have installed the technology have stopped or severely limited face-to-face visits. Some jails in Maricopa County, Arizona, have markedly cut down visiting hours, while in Shawnee County, Kansas, visitors are allowed to the jail, but must speak to inmates through the video system.

Richard Smith, CEO of Securus, declined to comment on the details of the Dallas contract, which Jenkins says could still be restructured to preserve visitation rights. But Smith disputes concerns about loss of in-person contact. “As soon as you get booked into a facility, in all fairness you start to lose your rights in that process and you have to rely upon the good judgement of the people who are administering the facility,” he says.

“Should jails be experimenting with more ways to keep families together? Yes,” says Peter Wagner, executive director of the Prison Policy Initiative, a non-profit group in Massachusetts that is working with Dallas County to improve the video chat plan. “Should they be experimenting with things that rip off the poorest families in their state or county? No.”

This article appeared in print under the headline “See you in the slammer”